


Small Bump

by jayshails



Category: Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: F/M, Family Fluff, Newborn Children, Pregnancy, Upstead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:46:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29108028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jayshails/pseuds/jayshails
Summary: Pregnant.The words on the small display didn't lie. It was the third expensive pregnancy test she had taken after taking two cheap ones, and they all said the same thing.Pregnant. Hailey Upton was pregnant.Or, a journey that follows Hailey Upton and Jay Halstead through the different stages of pregnancy and parenthood.
Relationships: Jay Halstead & Hailey Upton, Jay Halstead/Hailey Upton, Kevin Atwater/Vanessa Rojas, Kim Burgess/Adam Ruzek
Comments: 25
Kudos: 146





	1. Chapter 1

October 2023

_Pregnant_.

The words on the small display didn't lie. It was the third expensive pregnancy test she had taken after taking two cheap ones, and they all said the same thing.

 _Pregnant_. Hailey Upton was pregnant.

When she had missed her period, she had thought it was because of the stress. Lately, the Intelligence had faced some pretty rough cases that sometimes had made it hard for her to sleep at night. Never in a million years she had thought she was pregnant, at least until her period was almost two weeks late. Hailey had realised that she and Jay hadn't been the most careful recently, and since she wasn't on birth control pregnancy was definitely a possibility. She had bought some cheap tests and some expensive ones, just to be sure the result was correct. She knew sometimes a test could give a false result and this was the reason why she decided to take five. All of them were positive.

Hailey didn't know how to feel. It wasn't like she didn't want kids, she did, pretty much since her nephews were born. She just didn't expect it to happen this way. She had always thought she would discuss it with her boyfriend, husband or whatever, that they would decide together to try to get pregnancy when they both felt ready. She and Jay had never seriously talked about it. They had both said they would like to have a family someday, but they never made plans about it. They had been married for six months after two years of dating and had simply enjoyed their newlywed life until now.

Hailey didn't know if Jay was ready for this. She didn't know if _she_ was ready for this. How in the world could she be a good mom? Her childhood hadn't been the best. Her house wasn't exaclty a good place to be raised in. Her mother did her best to give her and her brothers an happy childhood but nothing ― not the brownies she made every saturday, not the gifts she used to give them, not the days spent at the park or the the trips they used to take every weekend ― _nothing_ could erase the imagine of her father screaming, destroying things, hitting her, her brothers and her mother. Hailey knew she had happy memories of her childhood, but thinking about them hurt. It hurt because every time she thought about that, she thought about what she could have had. She could have had a loving and caring father, because her dad was capable of that, she knew it. He was, sometimes. But he also was a violent man and an alcoholic, who didn't think twice about hitting his children and his wife when they made him angry. How could she be a good mom if she didn't know what it was like to be raised in an happy and safe household?

Jay hadn't had the best childhood either. His father wasn't a violet man but he certainly hadn't been a present dad. Jay told her he wasn't at home for most of the time and that Pat Halstead and his wife didn't get along very well. Jay at some point had also wondered how in the world they ended up married. They were so different, they had different opinions about everything, especially about the right way to raise children. What if they ended up like Jay's parents, arguing about everything and falling out of love? Hailey shook her head. No, they were different. They weren't their parents. They could do better.

The blonde detective was sitting on the bathroom floor, her back against the wall, starting at the last test she had taken. She got up, placing the stick on the sinktop, watching the room around her. When they had moved in there new home, it hadn't been a big change, they were already together pretty much at every hour of day and always used to sleep together, sometimes at Jay's place, sometimes at Hailey's. It felt perfectly natural to move in together, to constantly share every part of the house. Hailey had felt bad for leaving Vanessa on her own, but her best friends had assured her that she would be fine. The blonde detective believed her, but she still managed to make a visit every day, even though they always saw each other at work. Hailey's gaze stopped at the sight of her figure in the mirror. She looked exactly the same. Blonde hair pulled up in a pony tale. Blue eyes, pink cheeks. A white sweater and a pair of black jeans. Black boots. Her detective badge hung on her belt. She looked perfectly normal, like her usual self. But she wasn't. She was pregnant. There was a _baby_ inside her. Another tiny human that was slowly growing. She turned to the side, standing in profile in front of the mirror. Hailey's hands travelled to her stomach, where they stopped. She looked at herself in the mirror, her hands on her belly, and laughed, while tears of joy started rolling on her cheeks.

She was pregnant. She was pregnant and she was happy to be pregnant. She just needed to recover from the shock to realise it, but she was seriously happy. She was pregnant and the baby was Jay's. Jay, who was the love of her life ― Hailey was pretty sure about it. She had never loved someone in the way she loved Jay. She had never trusted someone so deeply to completely open up about every difficult thing she had faced in her past. And nobody had ever been there for her like him. They had faced so many things together and she knew he would always betat her side. Still, she couldn't get out of her mind the thought of him leaving. She was scared to be left alone once again. While she was still smiling widely and caressing her belly, her husband knocked at the bathroom door.

“Babe?” Jay called. “Are you okay? You've been in there for a while”

Hailey panicked for a moment. She didn't want to tell him she was pregnant straight away. First of all, she didn't know how he would react. She was extremely anxious about it. What if he told her that he wasn't ready for this? She knew it probably was something Jay would never do, but she couldn't be sure about it, not until she actually told him. Besides this, she wanted to tell him in a special way. She quickly threw all the pregnancy tests in her bag, wiping the tears on her cheeks away.

“Yeah” she said, sniffing. She turned on the tap and washed her face. “I'm okay. Sorry, I just got lost in my thoughts” she added, opening the bathroom's door.

She found Jay standing in front of her, a worried look on in face. “You sure everything is fine?” he asked again.

She smiled, stood on tiptoe and give him a kiss on the lips. “Yeah, I'm sure. Let's go to work”

* * *

“You've been distracted today. Is something bothering you?”

“Huh?” Hailey raised her head and looked at Jay.

They were sitting on their bed, ready to go to sleep after a long day at the intelligence. The unit had a new lead about a gang which was selling tainted drugs. Ten people had been recovered at med only in two days and seven of them had died. This had made Hailey extremely worried and at the same time distracted for the whole day. She couldn't help but thinking about what had happened to Kim three years before. She had done the right thing, that girl would have died without her, but she had lost her baby and Hailey didn't want to go through that. She figured she had to tell Jay as soon as possible and she had to tell Voight and her friends too. She hated the thought of being put on desk duty, but she couldn't think just about herself anymore. She had to take care of her baby. After recovering from the shock, Hailey already knew she wanted to keep it. She was happy about the news, it was unexpected, but it wasn't a bad new at all. She just hoped jay would be of the same opinion.

“See? You're not listening” Jay pointed out. “You're lost in your thoughts”

Hailey sighed. She knew he was right, she had been acting weird for the whole day and of course Jay had noticed it. She even told him she was too tired to go at molly's and grab a drink. He had simply nodded and had driven home without saying nothing, hoping she would open up about whatever was going on in her mind. But even after getting home, Hailey had been absent-minded, her gaze lost while she stared at nothing, her hands on her lap.

“Talk to me, Hails” Jay said, placing an hand on her cheek and caressing it with his thumb. “You know you can tell me everything, right?”

She nodded, smiling and placing her hand on his. “I know” she said, squeezing it. “I'm just tired. I haven't slept well” she lied. The blonde detective felt bad for lying to him, but she wanted to give him the news in another way. She didn't want to simply blurt it out.

“Why didn't you wake me up?” he wondered. “You have to do it when you can't sleep”

“Yeah, i'm sorry” she said, leaning in and giving him a kiss on the lips. “I just didn't want to bother you. You looked so peaceful”

Jay smiled, kissing her again. “I was sleeping next to most gorgeous and badass woman in the world. I felt safe” he said, making her chuckle. He was so glad to finally see her smile.

“Jay” she said. “I love you” Hailey added after some moments of silence.

He smiled. “I love you too” Jay replied. “You're my person, Hailey Upton. I'll always be there for you”

_Will you be after hearing the news?_

She nodded, curling up against his chest. “Come on, let's sleep” he said.

They both laid down, tightened in each other's arms. Hailey placed her head on his chest, hearing his heart beating. Instantly, she placed an hand on her belly, thinking that there was a tiny human with an heartbeat there. A human that she and Jay had created with their love. Hailey fell peacefully asleep in her husband's arms, while he was stroking her hair. Jay knew there was something going on with Hailey, but he also knew he didn't have to push her too hard. She would talk to him, he knew it. She just needed some time to elaborate whatever had happened. And he would wait patiently, making sure to let her know he would always be by her side, no matter what.

* * *

A week later, they finally had a day off. They caught those drug dealers who were killing tons of people the day before, and Voight had said that the paperwork could wait since they had had a pretty rough week. Jay and Hailey were actually glad to have a day off, especially the blonde detective. She had to tell Jay she was pregnant, keeping that secret for a week had been almost impossible, so she decided she would reveal him everything that day. The real question was, _how_? 

There was the simple way. Saying those three words was quick and painless. But Hailey didn't know if she would gather the courage to do it. She hated herself for doubting that Jay would stay with her but she couldn't kick that feeling out of her mind. Hailey wanted him to be happy. She didn't want him to stay because he felt the need to, she wanted him to stay and to raise this baby with her because he wanted to. She didn't want to become an obligation. 

The second way to tell him she was pregnant was pretty simple as well. Hiding the pregnancy tests, which were still in her bag, in a drawer, then asking him to pick something from that drawer so he would find them. But how could she do it if he was constantly with her, following her in any room? Hailey knew Jay did this because he was worried. He could tell there was something that was bothering her and he didn't want to leave her alone. Hailey was grateful because this showed how much he cared about her. At the same time though, she actually needed to be alone, at least for a couple of minutes. 

There was also a third option. One of her sisters-in-law had told Hailey's brother she was pregnant with their first child by letting him find a onesie with a cute phrase on it. It was a cute idea, but Hailey didn't have a onesie. She didn't have anything besides her pregnancy tests so she had to go outside to buy it. She spent the whole morning trying to decide in which way telling him she was pregnant. At the end, she decided the onesie was the best option, mainly because she could actually get out of the house and clear her mind a bit. Jay wanted to go with her when she told him she had to do a bunch of commissions and it took Hailey an hour to convince him she was going to be fine. Jay usually wouldn't behave like that, but he was worried for his wife, who had been distant and distracted for the past couple of days.

When Hailey finally managed to get out of the house, she searched on her phone for the nearest baby clothes shop. She had a strange feeling while she walked into the shop. She was actually there and, for the first time, she was buying something for herself. For her baby. The blonde detective couldn't decide on which onesie buy. She actually didn't even know what size she had to buy either, she usually always asked for advice to her mother when she had to buy a present for her nephews and the last time she had bought a onesie was three years before. She ended up asking the shop assistant if she was actually looking at newborns clothes and after getting a reassuring nod and a couple of words from her, Hailey started looking for the perfect one. There were a lot of onesies on which there was writte " _hello_ _world"._ She thought it was super cute, but she didn't know if she actually wanted to buy it. She spent a couple of hours looking at baby's clothes, and she wondered if the shops assistants thought she was a little bit out of her mind. Then, a onesie caught her attention. There was written " _my dad is my hero_ ". Hailey felt tears in her eyes. Jay would definitely be his child's hero. Not only he was a cop, a great cop, one of the best detectives out there, he had also been an army ranger. At the end, she decided to buy that one.

When she finally arrived back home, it was late in the afternoon. Jay was waiting for her on the couch, looking at his phone. He got up when she walked in, looking extremely worried.

“Where have you been?” he asked.

“I needed to buy some things, I told you” she replied, placing the bag on the kitchen table.

“Yeah. But you also missed five of my calls” he said. “I was starting to get seriously worried”

Hailey picked her phone from her bag and noticed that in fact there were five missed calls from him. They weren't close in time, Jay had probably thought she was busy and she couldn't answer, so he had tried to call her later. But she had never answered because her phone's volume was off. “I'm sorry. I had the volume off, I didn't hear anything”

Jay sighed, nodding. “I was just worried”

“I know”

“You've been distant, Hailey” he said, running an hand through his short hair. “There's something going on in your mind and it's something big, I know it. And I don't know why you're not letting me in” he added, frustrated and worried and the same time. “I thought we made progress. I thought we told each other everything and the only reason for keeping me oblivious must be that it has something to do with me. I thought about it a lot but I can't see what I did wrong so please, please, tell me what I did wrong because I can't lose you and I feel like this is what is happ―”

“I'm pregnant” she blurted out.

Hailey didn't want to do it this way but she couldn't see him blaming himself for something that he hadn't done. She was the one that had been distant, that had kept everything to herself. She felt terrible knowing that her behaviour had made him feel guilty, that it had made him feel like he had done something wrong. Why in the world she always had to mess things up?

Jay's eyes opened wide at her words. He didn't talk for a while, simply staring at her in shock. “What?”

 _"_ I'm pregnant” she repeated, feeling tears coming at her eyes. _Stupid pregnancy hormons_. She was crying, again. “I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't want to tell you in this way, I went out because I wanted to buy this onesie and surprise you with it and I had this whole speech planned in which I told how much I love you and how I couldn't wish for a better father for this baby but I messed everything up and I made you feel bad because you thought you had done something to me while I was the one that kept this a secret for a week because I didn't know how to tell you and I didn't know how you would react since we haven't seriously talked about this and I―”

Jay interrupted her by pulling her in a kiss. Hailey was surprised at first, but she quickly melted into his arms, pulling him closer. They pulled apart when they both were out of breath but they rested their foreheads against each other's. “You're pregnant?” Jay asked, whispering, and Hailey noticed his eyes were teary.

“Yeah” she whispered, biting her lower lip.

Jay's face lightened up in one of the brightest smiles she had ever seen. He pulled her up and twirled around while laughing. Hailey couldn't help but laugh too. Once he put her on the ground again, she took a deep breath. _"_ So, you're happy? You're not angry or disappointed?”

“Happy? Hailey, I'm over the moon!” he said and Hailey could swear she had never seen him so excited. “How could I be angry or disappointed? This is the best thing ever!”

“I don't know I―I was just afraid that you might have said you weren't ready yet” she confessed, playing with her hands nervously. “We always said we wanted to have a family but we never talked about when and I don't know I just panicked because I didn't want you to leave me. To leave us. I'm sorry for my behaviour in the past couple of days I―”

“Hails” Jay said, interrupting her gently and taking her head in his hands. “I would never leave you. I've told you many times. I'd follow you anywhere. I meant it and I still do”

Hailey smiled, tears of joy running down her cheeks. “It might be not what we expected but I can say it's definitely the best surprise I've ever had” Jay added finally. Hailey pulled him in for another kiss.

“I love you” she said when they pulled apart.

“I love you too” he replied. “Both of you” Jay added, placing an hand on Hailey's tummy. The blonde detective thought she could really gey used to this.

“We have to tell everyone now” Jay said after a moment.

“Yeah” Hailey agreed, nodding. “I have to be on desk duty as soon as possible, so we really need to tell everyone”

“Are you comfortable with this?” he asked. He looked unsure. “Because from you speech i assumed you want to keep this baby but as for work―”

“Of course I want to keep it, Jay. It's our baby. Our love made this” Hailey said. she couldn't think about not keeping her baby. She knew she wanted to be a mom. She hadn't planned it but she was okay with that. Especially now that she knew for sure that Jay wanted this as well. “And i will hate desk duty. But I know I can't work on the field anymore. I already love this baby so much and I don't want to lose it”

Jay nodded and kissed her. “I love you”

“I love you too”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!  
> This is my first story in AO3. It will be a multichapter story that will follow Jay and Hailey through their first pregnancy. I hope you like this!  
> I also wanted to say that English is not my first language (I'm Italian) and even though I'll try my best not to make mistakes I will certainly do them. Maybe let me know so I can correct them.  
> See you in the next chapter <3 (hopefully)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It's our baby” he whispered, almost like he was afraid that if he said that out loud, everything would vanish and he would wake up in an empty room.
> 
> “Yeah, it's our baby” Hailey repeated, nodding and feeling a smile coming to her lips. She turned towards the screen, looking again at that tiny figure. Their child.
> 
> Or, Jay and Hailey go to their first ultrasound. Hailey is scared and so is Jay, but he's definitely better at hiding it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to thank everyone for the kudos, the lovely comments and the bookmarks you've left on the last chapter! They really made my day! Hope you enjoy this chapter as well <3

November 2023

“Jay” Hailey said as she saw what was in the bag that her husband had brough home. Jay had gone to the grocery store to buy some things they needed, but food wasn't the only thing that he had bought. “Is this another pregnancy book?” she said, picking up the book from the bag.

Jay turned towards her, an innocent look on his face. “It's the mother of all pregnancy books, love!” he said, raising his hand up in the air. “It's said in the title!”

Hailey rolled her eyes and smiled. “Jay” she said. She put the book on the kitchen table and then walked towards him, intertwining her hands behind his neck. “It's the tenth pregnancy book you've bought. The _tenth_. And I told you I was pregnant six days ago”

“Wrong” he replied. “I bought _eight_ pregnancy books and _two_ baby names books”

“And how is this different?” the blonde detective teased him, tilting her head a little.

“It is, babe. It is different”

“Oh, really?” she said, then she pulled him down for a kiss.

“I just want to make sure we will be prepared when the time comes” Jay said when they pulled apart.

Hailey smiled softly. She loved this new side of her husband, but if he kept buying those books their house would be full of them by the end of her pregnancy. Honestly, she was surprised he hadn't already started buying clothes for the baby. “I know. I want to be prepared too but please, we have enough books for now”

“Fine” Jay replied but Hailey knew that, if he found another book he liked, he would immediately buy it. He had almost finished " _Dude, you're going to be a dad!_ " even though he had started it three days before. “But the baby loves my books” he added.

Hailey rolled her eyes and shook her head, laughing. “Oh, really?”

Jay nodded, laughing as well. “Yes, really” he confirmed. “I know very well our little―wait, how big is it?” he asked, placing his hands on Hailey's tummy.

“The app I downloaded says it's the size of a grain of rice” the blonde detective answered. “But it's not one hundred percent accurate, since we don't actually know how far away I am in the pregnancy” she added. She had taken another couple of pregnancy tests that said she was between five and six weeks pregnant. She hoped the doctors would be more precise.

“Babe” Jay said after a couple of moments of silence. Hailey raised her eyebrows. His tone was strange.

“Yeah?”

“What if books aren't the only thing I have bought?” he asked, giving her those puppy eyes she adored so much.

“What have you bought, Jay?”

“A few things” he answered. “Some oils, pregnancy pillows, two shirts on which there is written "mom" and "dad"... I also thought about getting prenatal vitamins but I don't know anything about those. Oh, and I also got you a massager”

“A _massager_?”

“On the book I read, it's said that it's good for both the mom and the baby” he explained. “It helps you relax”

“Oh, God” Hailey said and she burst out laughing. She was happy, laughing, but she could feel tears were about to come out of her eyes. Jay was so perfect, in every way possibile. And this, for no reason at all, made her want to cry. “You're incredible”

“Is that a compliment?” he wondered, a smile on his face.

“Yes, it is” Hailey said, nodding and wiping away the few tears that had escaped from her eyes. “You're the best husband and the best baby daddy anyone could ask for ”

“You'll be the best mom ever, you know it, right?” Jay replied.

Hailey nodded and let out a nervous laugh. “I hope so”

“Anyway, we should get ready. The appointment is in two hours” she said after a moment, pulling away from her husband after giving him a quick kiss on the lips. “Did you tell Voight we're not on call, didn't you?”

They were going to their first ultrasound appointment. Before telling everyone they were pregnant, they had thought it was better to make sure everything was fine. It took them a couple of days to schedule the appointment, mainly because they didn't know what hospital they should choose. The Chicago Med had one of the best OBs in the whole Windy City, however, many of their friends worked in that hospital, including Jay's brother. Hailey didn't want people to find out by accident, but she had heard good things about the head of the department and the other doctors that worked in the OB. At the end, they had chosen Med and had managed to get an appointment in a day in which Will wasn't at work. They just hoped none of their friends had a reason to show up in OB that day.

Hailey was pretty excited about the appointment, but she was nervous too. During the past six days, her symptoms had gotten stronger. What she thought was a simply stomach bug ― before knowing she was expecting ― turned out to be a very strong morning sickness. She had also threw up for three times, once at home and twice at work, and she already hated it. She had read in one of the books that Jay had bought ― they were useful, she had to admit it ― that morning sickness got lighter during the second trimester and she was already looking forward to it. Hailey wondered how her friends at the district hadn't noticed that she was feeling a little bit off and that she had threw up in the bathroom. She now understood why none of them was a detective. 

“Yep” Jay confirmed. “I told him we had to babysit your nephews because none else could”

“Good excuse” she said. “I'm excited for this”

“Me too” he said, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. 

“I'm gonna get a shower” she added, starting to go upstairs

“Can I join?” he asked, turning towards the stairs, but his wife had already disappeared on the upper floor.

“Only if you put the groceries away first!” her voice exclaimed. Jay smiled and did as she asked, before joining her upstairs.

* * *

As the hour settled for the appointment approached, Hailey couldn't help but feel more nervous. By the time their car reached the hospital's parking lot, her excitement had vanished and she was now just anxious. She was pregnant, but was her baby fine? Many things could go wrong, especially in the first stage of pregnancy, and she hadn't known she was expecting until she had been at least five weeks, maybe more. She was wondering if the baby was growing in the right way, if it was measuring alright, if its heart was beating. Jay was the one who had started buying tons of things and, even though Hailey hadn't done the same, she had started imagining her future life, with her husband and her baby. It was a live she already loved and she didn't want to lose it.

Jay had noticed how much his wife was nervous. She had been silent during the whole journey to the hospital, nervously playing with her hands and looking at her feet. Her anxiety was understandable, he was a little bit nervous too but he wanted to reassure her. They got out of the car, Hailey still hadn't said a word since they left home.

“Hails” Jay said, taking her hands in his. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah” she nodded. “No” she then said after a moment, shaking her head. She hated it. She hated feeling like that.

“Hey, hey” Jay said, pulling her in an hug. “What's wrong?”

“I'm scared” she whispered. “It's just― I have been working on the field for two weeks and I know I didn't get hurt but I don't know, what if something got wrong? What if I did something and the baby is not okay? Or what if the baby is not okay in general? I know I'm acting weird, I'm not like this but Jay I love this, I love you, I love the life that I imagined for us and for the baby and I don't want to lose it, because―”

“Hey” Jay said, gently taking her hand in his hands. “Our baby is gonna be fine. And do you know why I'm so sure about it?” he said. Hailey slowly shook her head. “Because our baby has the strongest woman I've ever mother as its mother. And if our kid is even just half as tough as you are, it will be alright”

The blonde detective nodded. Her husband's words had reassured her, but she was still nervous. “I love you, Jay”

“I love you too, Hails” he said and he leaned in to kiss her. “Let's go see our baby”

Hailey wiped the tears away from her eyes and smiled. Then, she walked in the hospital hand in hand with Jay.

* * *

“Halstead”

It almost didn't feel real when the doctor ― a black woman in her forties with long, brown hair ― called their name. Hailey received a glance from Jay, who gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand. Then, they both walked into the OB's room. The blonde detective took a deep breath. That was it. They had came early, so they had to spend around fifteen minutes in the waiting room. Now, it was their turn. 

“I'm Dr. Allen, nice to meet you” the doctor introduced herself and held out her hand.

“I'm Jay and this is my wife Hailey” Jay said, shaking her hand.

“Nice to meet you” Hailey said shaking the doctor's hand as well. Dr. Allen told them to sit in front of her desk with a smile, then she took a seat on the other side.

“Can I ask you something?” Dr. Allen wondered. They nodded. “Are you related to Dr. Will Halstead? He works in the ED”

“Yeah, he's my older brother” Jay answered. “He doesn't know we're here. Actually, nobody does”

“I will keep my mouth shut then”

“Thank you”

“I see you've scheduled an ultrasound” she said, looking at the tablet that was on her desk. Both Jay and Hailey nodded. “Great. Now, I need to ask you some questions first”

“Sure” the blonde detective said, swallowing nervously. She wasn't sure she could wait anymore. She didn't know what was happening to her, she had never felt so scared and vulnerable in her life. No, actually she did. Once. When Jay was kidnapped and then was shot. She remembered feeling exaclty the same. Jay, noticing her nervousness, reached for hand and squeezed it gently. Hailey smiled at him.

“Is this your first pregnancy?” Dr. Allen asked. 

“Yes” she answered, nodding.

“Have you had any history with pregnancy loss?” the doctor wondered. “I know this is a sensitive topic but it's important knowing the clinical story of a patient”

“Yeah, sure” Hailey said, trying to hide the fact that the mentioning of pregnancy loss had kinda freaked her our. “Anyway, no. Luckily, we never experienced that”

“Great” the woman said, typing something on the table. “And, when were you born?”

“I was born in 1993” Hailey said. “I'll turn thirty-one next year”

“Okay. So, when did you guys found out you were pregnant? And how?”

“Uhm, I took a pregnancy test two weeks ago because I realised my period was two weeks late and it was something that never happened to me” the blonde detective replied. “I was also feeling slightly nauseous, but I thought it was just a stomach bug”

“But she didn't tell me until six days ago” Jay said, teasing his wife a little bit. 

“I was just trying to find the right way!” Hailey replied. She wasn't upset, Jay could tell it by the look on her eyes. He grinned. Dr. Allen chuckled too.

“I know, love. I know” he said, placing a kiss on her forehead.

“I also took another pregnancy test four days ago. It was the type that tells you how far away you are” Hailey then remembered. “It said I was between five and six weeks”

“Okay” the OB said, smiling and finishing to type something on the tablet. Then, she looked up at the couple. “Since you're so early in your pregnancy, we'll do a transvaginal ultrasound instead of an abdominal one. You don't have to worry, it's perfectly safe and it won't hurt the baby”

“Okay” Hailey nodded. She noticed she was trembling. She was hating herself so much in that moment, she honestly wished she could be as calm as her husband. To be honest, Jay was freaking out as well. She would have noticed he was bouncing his leg up and down if she hadn't been so nervous herself. The doctor got up and both Hailey and Jay followed her moves.

“Now, I need you to get undressed so we can proceed. You can of course keep your jumper”

Hailey did as she asked, then she laid on the bed near the ecograph. Before starting with the ultrasound, Dr. Allen gave her a plaid so she wouldn't feel cold and then explained what she was going to do. Hailey reached our for Jay's hand. He was standing near the bed, caressing her hair.

“So, we'll try to establish your due date by measuring the fetus' crown-rump length. It might not be totally accurate because, as I said, it's early. The due-date could change, but not much. I'm talking about days, maybe a week, but nothing more” she explained. “We're also going to look for the heartbeat. We should be able to find it since I believe you're around seven weeks, but if it won't happen, there's no need to be scared”

“We might―” Jay's mouth was suddenly dry. “We might not hear the heartbeat?”

He and Hailey exchanged a look and both could read fear in each other's eyes.

“Sometimes, when you're so early in the pregnancy, it might happen, yeah” Dr. Allen answered. “In that case, I'll schedule an appointment for next week. The baby will be bigger and it will be easier to find the heartbeat. But let's cross the bridges when we come to them, alright?”

They nodded, but they were still scared. It wasn't something they expected to hear. The doctor then inserted the ecograph and then started looking at the machine's monitor. After a couple of minutes, she pointed at the screen. “Okay, can you see it?” she asked. “This black area here is the sac that contains amniotic fluid. And this little thing is here is your baby”

Hailey didn't know when she started crying, but she surely knew that in that moment tears were pouring from her eyes. It was real. It wasn't a dream. She was seriously pregnant, there was a baby inside her, a baby that she had created with Jay. She looked up at her husband and she noticed his eyes were red too and tears were rolling down his cheeks. Jay, feeling Hailey's gaze on him, turned towards her and leaned in to gave her a chaste kiss on the lips.

“It's our baby” he whispered, almost like he was afraid that if he said that out loud, everything would vanish and he would wake up in an empty room.

“Yeah, it's our baby” Hailey repeated, nodding and feeling a smile coming to her lips. She turned towards the screen, looking again at that tiny figure. _Their child_.

Dr. Allen was looking at them with a wide smile on her face. Since the couple had walked into the room, she had been able to tell they really loved each other, and this confirmed it. “Now, let's try to measure this little grain of rice” she said after a couple of minutes. “By the data that I've collected, I'm confident to say that you're seven weeks pregnant, day plus or day minus” she affirmed after measuring the fetus. “I think you'll meet you're baby by the end June 2024. It's not possible to be really precise about the day but you will certainly give birth around that period”

“June 2024” Hailey whispered and smiled widely. She couldn't wait for June to come. They were only at the beginning of November, she knew it would a long journey before she got to meet her baby, but she already couldn't wait.

“It's also too soon to talk about the gender. We'll figure it out in future ultrasounds” the doctor said. “Now, let's look for the heartbeat”

Hailey felt Jay' body tense by the way he squeezed her hand. She took a deep breath. It would be okay. It _had_ to be okay. The silence that followed made both their heart racing. The blonde detective could feel her heart pounding in her ears. Until another sound filled the room.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

Hailey's mouth curved into a wide smile, more tears escaping from her eyes, while Jay exhaled deeply. It looked like he had held his breath forever.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

It was the baby's heart. Their baby's hear was beating. Everything was okay.  
  
“Baby's heartbeat is clear and strong” Dr. Allen said with a smile. “Everything looks good. Do you want a picture?”

“Yes, yes!” Hailey said, nodding in excitement. Jay wasn't able to hold back a chuckle. God, he loved her and their baby in a way that he didn't believe was possibile. At least before he met Hailey Anne Upton.

* * *

Jay watched in silence as Hailey started at the ultrasound picture Dr. Allen gave them. She was looking at in with adoration in her eyes, gently caressing with her finger the tiny figure of their baby. They were in the car, they had just got out from the hospital and they were so thankful because everything looked good. Jay was so relieved. He had tried to reassure Hailey before but the truth was that he had been scared as well. 

“Vanessa is going to love this” Hailey said, wiping tears away from her eyes. She had been crying since they had seen their baby. Vanessa had been back two years before, after spending an year undercover for a important operation that was an incredible opportunity for her career. It had been hard spending a whole year without her best friend, but she had came back and it was all that mattered. She had been there for her wedding and she was going to be there for her baby's birth. _This_ was important. 

“She's going to freak out” Jay said and the blonde detective let out a chuckle.

“She definitely is” she nodded in agreement. “She's been teasing about how gorgeous our babies would be even before we got together”

Jay raised an eyebrow. “Seriosuly?”

“Yeah, seriously!” Hailey replied, laughing. “She used to say, and I quote " _I seriously don't understand why you won't tell him how you feel. He's completely in love with you and you would make gorgeous babies since you're both the hottest people I've ever met_ "”

Jay let out a loud laugh. “My God. That definitely sounds like Vanessa”

“Yep” Hailey nodded. “I'd like her to be the Godmother” she then whispered quietly.

Jay leaned towards her and gently picked her lips. “Absolutely”

That night, when they went to bed, the ultrasound picture was already hanging on the fridge. It was the first tangible proof of the life they were going to build together. As he watched Hailey fall asleep in his arms, Jay thought he was truly grateful, especially for Hailey. When she came into his life, he would have never thought something like that would happened. But it did. She made her way in his heart slowly and, once she was in, completely took it in her hands. And he couldn't certainly complain. Hailey was exaclty everything he had ever wished for. And now, they were going to have a real family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I'm back with a new chapter.  
> I actually wanted to do something better than this but I've written it four times and this was the version I liked the most, even though I'm not exaclty convinced. Hope you like it, though!  
> Also, this story is set in November 2023. Hailey and Jay got together at the beginning of 2021, got married in June 2023. Since we don't know the exact age of both Hailey and Jay, I imagined she was born in 1993, so she will be 31 when the baby is born. I don't know if that is accurate with the show but honestly I don't care, this is a fanfiction I'm writing for fun!  
> I would like to precise that I'm not a doctor, I've done a couple of research for the informations that I put in this chapter, they should correct but again, I'm not a doctor.  
> Anyway, let me know what are your thoughts on this!  
> Lots of love <3 See you in the next chapter (hopefully)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Why don't we just show her a picture of the ultrasound and tell her?”
> 
> “That's not a proper way to tell one of your best friends you're pregnant” Hailey replied.
> 
> “Well, I'm sorry to break the news, but you don't exactly know what's the proper way to tell someone you're having a kid” Jay teased her with a grin. “You basically blurted it out of the blue when you told me”
> 
> Or, Jay and Hailey tell everyone they're having a baby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the lovely comments and the kudos in the firs two chapters! I appreciate them a lot!!

November 2023

“Vanessa is going to be _so_ pissed if we don't tell her first” 

“Well, a pissed Rojas is not something I want to see”

Hailey and Jay had just came home from work ― it had been a smooth day, all they had to do was paperwork, they even got to get home sooner ― and were discussing how to tell their friends and family they were having a baby. They had to do it soon, because Hailey couldn't work on the field anymore. It was too risky, she knew that, and even if she was going to hate desk duty she was willing to do it for her child. Anything to protect her baby.

“So, how do we tell her?” the blonde detective asked. She and Jay were both on the couch and she was sitting on his lap, her head laying on his chest. Hailey had never been someone who showed her affection physically, but this thing had changed a lot since she and Jay got together. Now, she would be up to spend the rest of her life cuddling with him, trapped in his safe embrace.

Jay was caressing her hair and she couldn't see his expression, but he was probably frowning, making that adorable face he had every time he was intensely thinking about something. “Why don't we just show her a picture of the ultrasound and tell her?”

“That's not a proper way to tell one of your best friends you're pregnant” Hailey replied.

“Well, I'm sorry to break the news, but you don't exactly know what's the proper way to tell someone you're having a kid” Jay teased her with a grin. “You basically blurted it out of the blue when you told me”

Hailey smacked his chest, making him laugh. “Stop! I was emotional, okay? _Very_ emotional. I still am. And it's your fault”

“My fault? How is it my fault?” he asked, still laughing.

Hailey looked up at her husband. “ _You_ got me pregnant” she said, pointing a finger at his chest. Once again, she felt his chest vibrating because of his laugh.

“Well, it actually takes two to make a baby, you know?”

“Yeah, you may be right”

Jay laughed again and shook his head. “Back to Vanessa, if tomorrow we'll tell Voight, we have to tell her like now”

“I know! But how?”

“Tell her we need a Godmother?” he suggested.

Hailey smiled and smacked his chest again, but this time because he had a great idea. “Ouch! What did I do now?”

“Nothing!” she exclaimed, getting up and reaching for her phone on the small table in front of the couch. “It's a great idea! Come on, I'll text Ness that we need to stop at her place”

“But she'll know we're coming” Jay said, confused. Didn't Hailey want it to be a surprise.

“I know, but I really don't want to walk in while her and Kevin might be... _doing stuff_ ” she explained. “So, I'm gonna text her”

“Yup. Great idea” Jay said, desperately trying to push away the thought of Kevin and Vanessa doing stuff, as Hailey said. They started dating some months after Vanessa came back from her undercover operation and they were a great couple, seriosuly made for each other. Jay couldn't help but grinning at the thought that Voight's rule basically had been broken by everyone. No dating in the unit. And now, the Intelligence was made of couples. He and Hailey, Kevin and Vanessa, Adam and Kim. 

“Come on, let's get ready”

* * *

“What about Kim and Adam?” Hailey suddenly said while they were driving towards Vanessa's place, which had been Hailey's house as well before she and Jay got married and moved in together.

“What about them?” Jay asked, raising his eyebrows.

“How do we tell them?” the blonde detective wondered. “I mean, I know they now have Makayla and it's been almost four years but― they lost their baby. And now we're about to have one. I don't know, I just don't wanna wave the ultrasound right in front of their faces”

“Yeah, right” Jay said, recognising his wife was right. They had to be more careful with them, they didn't want to hurt them or touch a sensible subject in any way. “I'd say we just ask them to hang out and talk with them. Show them we're excited but also respectful of what happened to them”

“Yeah, sounds good” Hailey agreed. “Tomorrow evening?”

“Sure, let's hope they're free” Jay said. “We're here” he announced a couple of minutes later as he parked the car in front of Vanessa's house. “Are you nervous?” he asked Hailey before they got out of the car.

“A little bit” she admitted. “But I know she's gonna be happy”

“Totally”

They got out of the car and knocked at the door and then, a couple of seconds later, Vanessa opened it. “Hey! Come in!” she welcomed them, hugging Hailey and waving at Jay. “Kev's not home, he and Jordan had to go somewhere. Give me your jackets. So, what brings you here?”

Hailey and Jay gave her theirs jackets as she asked, then exchanged a quick look that didn't go unnoticed. Vanessa furrowed her eyebrows. “Guys? What's happening? Did you murder someone?”

Jay shook his head and laughed. “No, no”

“We need to ask you something” Hailey said.

“Sure, go ahead” Vanessa said, nodding.

“We need a Godmother” Hailey explained. A grin appeared on her face when she saw her friend's confused expression. “And we wondering if you'd be up for it”

“A Godmother? Why do you need a Godmothe― _Oh_ ” Vanessa started speaking but then she stopped, realising what that meant. Her eyes opened wide and her jaw dropped. Jay was unable to hold back a chuckle. “No you're not” Vanessa said, raising a finger as an advertisement.

Hailey nodded, tears coming to her eyes. “Yes, I am”

“No you're not” the younger woman said, shaking her head. Hailey and Jay both nodded. Then, Hailey picked the ultrasound picture from her pants' pocket and showed it to her bestfriends. “Shut up!” Vanessa exclaimed, taking some steps backwards. “You're pregnant? For real?”

“For real” Jay confirmed, smiling. He knew Nessa was going to freak out.

“YES! FINALLY!” she shouted, startling both of her friends. Then, she started jumping in excitement across the room. “You're pregnant! _Oh my God_! That's the best thing ever! I'm so freaking happy for the two of you, I knew this would happen I called it since day one, I've always said you were going to get married, have kids and everything and oh my God! You're having a baby! And it's gonna be _so_ loved because you're the best people in the world and it will allso be a gorgeous baby because have you seen yourself? You're seriosuly the hottest people on this planet and― A BABY, oh my God! Can I see it? Can I see it? Let me see the baby, pleaseeee!”

Hailey laughed and handed her the ultrasound picture. “It's still small, I'm seven weeks and three days”

“Oh my God” Vanessa whispered, caressing the baby's tiny figure with her finger. “A child. That's―that's amazing! I'm so happy for you two” she said, immediately hugging Hailey tightly. 

“Thank you” the blonde detective replied, hugging her friend back.

“What about me? Don't I get an hug?” Jay spoke, grinning.

“Shut up” Vanessa said, before pulling him in an hug as well. He laughed. “Do you seriously―do you seriosuly want me to be the Godmother?” she asked once she broke the hug, sniffling. Visible tears were falling down her cheeks and Hailey felt like she was about to cry as well.

“Yeah” she answered, nodding and trying her best to hold back the tears. She noticed it didn't really worked when she felt a tear escaping her eye running down her right cheek. “But, only if you want to”

“Of course! Of course!” Vanessa exclaimed, pulling Hailey in for an hug again. Jay watched the scene smiling. The two women were more than best friends, they loved each other like sisters and he was so glad Hailey had someone like Vanessa in her life. “A baby” Vanessa whispered when she pulled apart from Hailey. “My God. That's crazy”

“I know” the blonde detective said.

“But, how―how are you feeling?” Vanessa asked. “Are you feeling tired or nauseous or―do you need anything? I can buy everything you need, oils, pillows, shirt, leggings― and of course everything that the baby needs! Clothes, diapers, toys and―”

“Ness” Hailey gently interrupted her. “I don't need another Jay at the moment, but thank you” she said. Vanessa gave her a questioning look. “He already bought like ten pregnancy books, oils, pillows, a massager, basically the only things he didn't get are baby clothes”

“Well, he'll certainly be a wonderful father” Vanessa commented.

“See? Someone appreciates me here” Jay teased his wife.

“But I do appreciate you” she replied, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Then, before the conversation could go on, someone opened the front door.

“Babe, I'm home!” Kevin's voice called from the entrance. “Where are you?”

“Kevin!” Vanessa whispered. “Can we tell him? Can we tell him, pleaseeee”

Both Jay and Hailey nodded, chuckling. Vanessa ran out of the room and a couple of seconds later came back, basically dragging her boyfriend with her. She was jumping in excitement and Kevin had a very confused look on his face. “What are you― Jay, Hailey, hey. Is everything okay?” he asked when he noticed his friends.

“Everything is super okay!” his girlfriend exclaimed. “And do you know why?”

“No...” Kevin said, hesitantly. “Care to tell me?”

Vanessa ran towards Hailey. The blonde detective gave her the ultrasound picture and, a second later, Vanessa was waving the picture in front of Kevin's face. “Hailey and Jay are having a baby! A baby, Kevin! And I'll be the Godmother!”

Kevin's jaw dropped and Jay couldn't help but laugh while Hailey stared at her best friend with a big smile on her face. She loved how Vanessa was so excited. “Oh my God!” Kevin said, once he realised what his girlfriend had just said. “Congratulations! That's the best news ever!”

“Thanks, man” Jay said as Kevin gave him an hug.

“I'm so happy for you” Kevin said, hugging Hailey. 

“Thank you” she replied with a smile.

“A BABY!” Vanessa exclaimed again, jumping across the room and looking at the ultrasound. Hailey laughed and shook her head. That baby was going to be really loved by everyone.

* * *

After staying a couple of hours at Vanessa's and after begging her not to tell anyone yet, at least until they had talked to Voight and their other friends, the decided to stop at Will's house. He was Jay's brother and he deserved to be one of the first people to know. A couple of days prior, while they were doing some shopping, Hailey had found a mug that she thought would be perfect to announce her pregnancy to Will. There was written " _funcle: like a dad, just way cooler_ ". Jay didn't find it fun at all but Hailey thought it was a perfect gift, especially because she loved to tease her husband about the fact that his brother was the best Halstead. It took her some time to convince Jay but in the end she managed to and they bought it. Will was surprised by their visit but happily welcomed them into the house.

“So, big bro” Jay said, earning a questioning look from his brother. “We have something for you”

“Something for me?” the doctor wondered, surprised.

Hailey nodded. _"_ We saw it the other day and reckoned it was perfect for you” she said, giving him the present.

“You know Christmas is next month and my birthday is in may, right?”

Both Hailey and Jay laughed. “Yeah. open it, come on”

Will slightly shook the gift, not hard because he didn't want to break if it was something fragile. He started to unwrap the paper with a confused look while Hailey was watching him with a very excited expression. When Will pulled the mug out of the box, he looked so confused that Jay couldn't help but burst out laughing.

“Funcle?” Will asked and Hailey couldn't resist any longer. She started laughing too. “What's a _funcle_?”

“I told you it wasn't a great idea” Jay said to his wife.

“Shut up, it's perfect” she replied, giving him a slight slap on his shoulder. “He just has to read it. Will, read the whole thing”

“ _Like a dad, just way cooler_ ” Will quoted. Then, he shook his head. “Guys, I'm seriously confused. I'm not an uncle”

“Yet” Jay and Hailey replied at the same time.

Will's eyes opened wide as he started to understand what they were trying to say. “Are you―are you pregnant?” he asked, shocked, pointing at Hailey.

She nodded, laughing. “Yeah, I am”

“Oh my god! Congratulations!” Will said with a super excited tone, hugging the blonde detective tightly. “Oh my god! What? Pregnant? _What_?” he started rambling once he broke the hug, running his free hand through his red hair. “You're gonna be a dad!” he said, hugging his brother. “Oh my god”

“We broke him” Jay joked as Will started at the mug in his hands.

“Congratulations, really” the doctor said, hugging both of them again.

“Thanks, brother”

“How far along are you?” Will asked hailey.

“Seven weeks and three days” she replied, a wide smile on her face. “Do you want to see the baby?”

“Yeah, yeah sure!” Will said, nodding vigoursly. Hailey and Jay laughed once again. They were so happy.

* * *

The next day, Jay and Hailey had decided to go to work early. They had to tell Voight the big news and they wanted to be sure they were alone. They didn't want Adam or Kim to find out by accident. During the ride towards the district, Hailey noticed how Jay was nervous, definitely more nervous than when they told Vanessa. She didn't ask him anything, because she thought she knew why he was feeling like this. For the both of them, Hank Voight was a father figure and, while she was sure he was going to be happy for them, she understood that her husband felt nervous. After they arrived, they walked into the district, greeted Sargent Platt and walked upstairs. They found Voight already in his office. Jay knocked.

“Come in” Hank said.

“Sarge? Can we talk?” Jay asked as he and Hailey walked into the room. Hailey closed the door behind them.

“Sure. What is it?”

“I―uhm, I need to but put on desk duty, Sarge” Hailey spilled out after taking a deep breath. “As soon as possible”

Voight got up from his chair, a confused look on his face as he made a few steps walking around his desk and then stopping in front of it. “I don't understand” he admitted, honestly. “I thought you loved this job, here. And, honestly, you're not someone I imagined would like to work behind a desk”

“I do. I do love this job, a lot” Hailey reassured him, nodding. “But...” she looked at Jay. He nodded and squeezed her arm. “I'm pregnant”

Hank's eyes opened wide as he raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Pregnant?”

“Yeah” she said. “Seven weeks and four days. I'll hate desk duty but I have to do it. For the baby”

Voight stayed silent for a couple of seconds, while both Jay and Hailey looked at him nervously. Then, his face lightened up and his mouth curved into a wide smiled. Unexpectedly, he pulled Hailey into a tight hug. “Congratulations. I'm really happy for you” he said. Then, he pulled apart from the blonde detective and hugged Jay too. “Becoming a father is one of the best things in world” he said. Hailey watched them hug with a smile.

“Thank you, Hank” Jay said after they broke the hug.

“Thank you” Hailey repeated with a smile. She noticed Hank's eyes were teary and, by the glance her husband threw at her, she knew he had noticed too. “Do you want to see the baby?” she asked Voight.

“Do you have a picture?”

“Yeah. It's still small but you can see something” she answered, handing him the ultrasound picture.

Hank took it in his hands a smiled. “He or she is gonna be a great detective, I know it” he commented, making Hailey and Jay smile. “Do you know what you're having?”

Jay shook his head. “No. Doctor said it's too soon”

Voight nodded, still looking at the picture. “We're gonna miss you here, Hailey” he said after a couple of moments of silence.

“I'm gonna miss here too” she said. “When Kim talked about her experience at the emergency department she didn't sound so excited about it”

“It's certainly very different from the Intelligence” the Sargent said. “But maybe we can arrange something. Maybe you won't have to leave”

Hailey's eyes sparkled, hopefully “Really?”

Voight smiled. “I'll see what I can do”

In that moment, someone knocked at the door of Voight's office. It was Trudy, who didn't wait for an invitation to come in. She opened the door and walked into the room, holding some files in her hands. “Hank, I need you to sign these so I can finally tell that very nice man to― what's that?” she asked, interrupting her speech as she saw the ultrasound that Voight was holding. “You're pregnant, aren't you?” she said, pointing at Hailey.

The blonde detective nodded with a smile. “Yeah, I am”

“ _I knew it!_ ” Trudy exclaimed. “Hank, you owe me fifty bucks”

“Uhm, what?” Jay asked, confused.

“I knew Goldilocks was pregnant since she threw up the other day in the bathroom” Platt explained. She looked extremely proud of herself. “Placed a bet with Hank and I won. There's nothing you can hide to Sargent Platt” she said, walking out of the room. Jay and Hailey burst out laughing, shaking their head. Hank smiled.

* * *

“So, what do you want to talk about?” Adam asked.

He was with Kim, Jay and Hailey, having dinner at a restaurant not so far from the district. The previous day, the Halsteads had told him and his wife they needed to talk with them and they suggested to do it over dinner. Makayla was with Vanessa and Kevin, who had offered to babysit. 

Hailey glanced at Jay, a nervous look on his face that didn't go unnoticed. Kim furrowed her eyebrows, wondering what their friends wanted to tell them. “We― uhm, we need to tell you something and we wanted to do it personally. First of all, because we're friends and also because you've had history with this”

“Yeah, it's been a lot of time but we think it's still a sensitive topic” Jay added.

“I don't think I understand what you're talking about” Kim said, more confused than before.

Hailey took a deep breath. Then, she took something out of her bag and placed it on the table. Kim and Adam had to looked at it for a couple of seconds before understanding what it was. An ultrasound. Kim's jaw dropped while Adam's confused gaze went from the picture to their friends and then to the picture again.

“We're having a baby” Jay said, quietly. For a moment, everyone stood there in silence.

Then, Kim got up, catching everyone by surprise, walked to the other side of the table and hugged Hailey. “Oh my God! That's amazing, Hails!” she exclaimed. The blonde detective smiled and let out a relieved breath, hugging back on of her best friends. “You're gonna be such a great mom!”

“Thank you” she replied with a smile.

“Congratulations, man” Adam said, shaking Jay's hands. He nodded and thanked him.

“We didn't know how to tell you because of what happened, you know” Hailey said once Kim was back to her seat. She and Adam were staring at the ultrasound.

“Yeah, we understand” Kim said with a sad smile. It had been almost four years but it still hurt. “But we're so happy for you. Seriously. Makayla is going to freak out, she'll love the idea of having a little cousin”

“Yup. She's gonna be the cool cousin and I'm gonna be the cool uncle” Adam said with a smirk.

Kim laughed and shook her head. “But tell us, how are you? How far are you? Have you already had any symptoms? Do you know the gender?”

“Woah woah, slow down babe” Adam said. “Let them breath”

Jay and Hailey laughed. “We're seven weeks and four days” Jay answered. “And we don't know the gender yet”

“Also yeah, I'm a little tired and nauseous but that's all” Hailey answered the other questions. “I've threw up a couple of times. And it sucks”

“Ugh, I know” Kim commented. “But they say it gets better”

“I sure hope it does” Hailey said. “Otherwise, I don't think I'm gonna last nine whole months”

They happily spent the rest of the night eating and talking, mainly about babies. Hailey felt happier than ever, even though she hadn't told her family yet. Her mother, her brother and her father didn't know she was pregnant. She planned to tell them by the end of the week, but for now, she felt perfectly complete. The Intelligence was her true family, and this was never going to change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!  
> I'm back with a new chapter, hope you like it. I'm sorry if it looks kind of monotonous but I wanted to describe everyone's reaction. Also, in this story Adam and Kim are married as well and they have now adopted Makayla. We're going to see her as well in the next chapters and maybe Hailey's family too.  
> See you in the next chapter (hopefully🥰🥰). It's gonna be very fluffy ;)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You're awake, I see” he said with a smile, walking towards the bed and placing the tray on it. She sat up. Then, Jay leaned in to kiss gently his wife on the mouth. “Morning”
> 
> “Morning” she replied with a smile. “What's this?” she asked, pointing at the tray as Jay sat on the bed next to her and put an hand around her waist.
> 
> “Breakfast in bed for my favourite people” he answered. “Sundays traditions. How are you feeling?”
> 
> Or, Jay and Hailey Sunday's morning. Lot of fluff <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you so much for the kudos and the comments in the previous chapter! I appreciate them a lot <3

December 2023

When Hailey woke up, she did because a ray of sunshine which was filtering through the windows hit her right in the eyes. She kept her eyes shut for a while, she didn't want to leave the comfortable position she was in. She reached for Jay's body and immediately noticed something. _Cold_. There wasn't a warm body next to her, she wasn't tightened in a safe embrace. Jay was not next to her. The blonde detective slowly opened her eyes, looking around the room. Jay was not in their bedroom. She robbed her eyes, running an hand through her blonde hair, wondering if her husband was in the bathroom or downstairs. The answer to this question came quickly as she heard soft noises coming from downstairs, probably from the kitchen. Hailey smiled. It was Sunday ― that meant no work and breakfast in bed. It was something that Jay started doing before they got married, when they were still dating. If it was Sunday and they had spent the previous night together ― a thing that had happened basically since they got together ― he would wake up before she did, quietly sneak out of the room and then surprise her with a breakfast in bed. 

Hailey sat up. She could join Jay downstairs, she knew, but she didn't really want to leave bed. She grabbed Jay's shirt, which was landing on the ground where they had left it the previous night, and put that on. Then, laid down under the sheets again. While she was waiting, her hands started caressing her belly. She was twelve weeks pregnant ― almost thirteen ― and she could swear she was starting showing. Dr. Allen had said that the bump usually started showing between twelve and sixteen weeks pregnant and since Hailey was quite thin she could actually start showing early in the first trimester. She gently caressed her belly, singing under her breath a lullaby her mother used to sing at her when she was little. After a couple of minutes, the bedroom's door opened and Hailey looked up to find Jay with a tray in his hands. He was wearing only his pants and hadn't a shirt on. He probably had left his on the pavement and didn't want to pick another one. It wasn't winter yet but temperatures were already really low and Hailey wondered how he managed to walk bare chested around the house in that time of the year. Not that she complained, she actually really enjoyed the view.

“You're awake, I see” he said with a smile, walking towards the bed and placing the tray on it. She sat up. Then, Jay leaned in to kiss gently his wife on the mouth. “Morning”

“Morning” she replied with a smile. “What's this?” she asked, pointing at the tray as Jay sat on the bed next to her and put an hand around her waist.

“Breakfast in bed for my favourite people” he answered. “Sundays traditions. How are you feeling?”

“Great” Hailey replied. She knew he was referring to her morning sickness, which had definitely got worse as she progressed in her pregnancy. “I haven't felt nauseous since I woke up, which was like fifteen minutes ago but it's still a record”

Jay chuckled and kissed her on the cheek. He hated seeing her sick and was very happy about the fact that she was feeling better. “I'm glad about that. Now, are you and the baby hungry?”

Hailey nodded. “Very”

Jay lifted the tray's lid and revealed what he had prepared for the morning. Pancakes ― a lot of pancakes ― two mugs with hit chocolate in them, many biscuits and four donuts. “ _Ta-daaa_!”

“Jay” Hailey called, looking at the amount of food on the tray. “How many things have you prepared?”

“A couple” he shrugged. Hailey raised an eyebrows. “What? You're eating for two, love. You need a lot of energy”

The blonde detective chuckled and shook her head. Jay was so exaggerated sometimes. “I know, but as you said, I'm eating for two, not for five”

“Adam thinks it could be twins”

“Yeah, no” Hailey said, laughing. “Dr. Allen said it's just one baby”

“I know, but it would be fun to have twins” he said with a grin.

“Sure” Hailey replied. “ _Super fun_. It's not like you and Adam are the ones that will have to push them out”

“Fair answer” Jay replied, laughing. “I still think eating a lot it's good both for you and baby”

“Yeah, but not _this_ _much_ ”

“Don't worry, I'll help you finish all of it” he said. Hailey laughed. They ate breakfast, talking about the things they had to get done for the day. Hailey was hoping to go for some baby shopping. She knew her husband wasn't really a fond of shopping but she was sure he would love buying things for the baby. He had already ordered some toys on the internet and was looking for a bassinet. They also had to decide whenever decorate the nursery, but Hailey thought it was better to wait until they found out the gender before actually starting it. She was only at the beginning of the second trimester, they had plenty of time.

“I know you wanted to go shopping today” Jay said after they finished their breakfast. “But I would much prefer spending a lazy day in bed” he added, pulling her down on their bed.

Hailey laughed and adjusted to the position they were in. Jay had his arms around her waist and she was laying on her side, facing him. She felt so comfortable in his arms. “You are tempting me, Halstead” she said, biting her lower lip. She knew it drove him crazy when she did that. He mumbled something she didn't understand before pulling her in for a kiss. Her hands travelled on his torso, he put one of his hands behind her head while the other one caressed her back, making her shiver despite the fact he wasn't touching her bare skin since she had a shirt on. Jay gronead as she pulled his lower lip with her teeth, then he deepened the kiss. His right hand was about to pull up her shirt when Hailey pulled suddenly apart. Jay gave her a very confused look before noticing her expression.

She quickly got out of the bed and rushed to the bathroom. He followed her immediately. Apparently, morning sickness never really had the intention to let her have a free day. Hailey kneeled in front of the toilet and threw up a large portion of her breakfast. Jay kneeled next to her and pulled her hair up, gently caressing her break.

“Shit” she mumbled, taking a piece of toilet paper that Jay handed her, cleaning her mouth and then throwing the paper into the toilet. Jay flushed the toilet as she sat on the floor, her back against the wall and her eyes closed. “I'm sorry”

Hailey was seriously starting to hate the situation. Her symtomps were supposed to get lighter now that she had entered her second trimester, but most of the times her breast were so sore that she couldn't even touch them or bear wearing a bra, she was feeling very tired and the morning sickness was nowhere near being gone. She usually started feeling nauseous all of a sudden and, when she didn't threw up, she spent the following hours without being able to do anything, since every single thing made her nausea worse. The blonde detective knew she couldn't expect her symptoms to vanish in the exact day when she started the second trimester, but a part of her had surely hoped that it would have happened.

“There's nothing to be sorry about, love” Jay said with a soft smile, caressing her hair. “Maybe I shouldn't have made such an amount of food”

She shook her head. “No, the food was delicious” she said, opening her eyes and reaching for his hand.

He smiled. “Well, next time I'll try something different. Lighter than pancakes, maybe”

Hailey shook her head another time as she closed her eyes again and leaned on the wall with her head as well. Nausea hadn't totally vanished. “But I love pancakes”

Jay let out a small chuckle. “I know” he whispered. “I'm gonna bring you some water, okay?”

She slightly nodded as she took her head between her hands. She heard Jay got up and walk out of the room. After a couple of minutes he came back. The blonde detective opened her eyes and found her husband with a glass of water and rubber band. “Here, let me tie your hair up so they won't get in the way” he said, placing the glass of water on the pavement next to them. She listened to him, letting him tied her hair in a messy bun. After he finished, Jay handed her the glass. She took it with a thankful smile and then took a sip of water.

“How are you feeling?” he asked after a couple of seconds.

“Better” she said, finishing the water in her glass. “Still nauseous, though”

“Do you want more?” Jay wondered, pointing at the empty glass. She shook her head. “Okay” he whispered. “Let's go back to bed” he said, picking her up from her floor. Hailey rested her head on his chest. Jay gently laid her down on the bed and covered her with the sheets. He was about to walk in the bathroom again to take the glass of water but she grabbed his hand.

“Stay here” she mumbled. Jay smiled softly and laid down next to his wife, pulling her between her arms, in a position similar to the one they were before she felt sick.

“I'm sorry” she quietly whispered, burying her head into his chest.

“Hey, no” he replied firmly, taking her chin between his finger and making her look up at him. “Don't be sorry, there is _nothing_ you should be sorry about. _I_ am the one who feels sorry because I can't take any of this on me”

Hailey smiled. She wanted to kiss him but she had just thrown up and even she had drank some water she was sure her breath wasn't really fresh. “I know if you could, you would”

Jay smiled and nodded, then he leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. He didn't care about the fact she had just thrown up and this made her smile in the kiss. After that, they stayed in silence for some minutes, simply enjoying each other's presence, as Hailey tried to focus on anything but the bug she felt in her stomach. “Babe” she quietly whispered. She didn't know if he had fallen asleep, she couldn't see his face because her head was laying on his chest.

“Yeah?” Jay whispered back.

“I think we should spend the rest of the day in bed”

Jay chuckled. “My ideas are always the best, see?” he said and from his tone Hailey could swear he was smirking. “Although I would like you not to be so sick”

“I'm a little bit better now” she reassured him. “I don't think I'll throw up a second time”

“This little one is giving you an hard time” Jay said, breaking the embrace they were in and pushing himself on his elbows. Then, his right hand pulled Hailey's shirt ― well, his shirt ― up to expose her belly, leaving her breasts covered. “We already like causing some trouble, aren't we?” he said, rubbing gently Hailey's stomach.

She watched with a big smile on her face Jay talking to her belly. She loved when he did it and he loved doing it as well. He always found a moment ― or more ― during the day to talk to their baby. “Well, he's taking that from his dad”

“Hey! I'm not heading for trouble” he replied. Hailey raised an eyebrow and started at him. After a couple of seconds, Jay scoffed and shook his head. “Fine. Maybe a little. But wait― did you just say _he_? Do you think it's a boy?”

Hailey shrugged. “I don't know” she replied. “But when I first found out I was pregnant, I immediately thought of a boy. But honestly, I don't care. I will be happy no matter what, I just want our child to be heatly”

Jay smiled and kissed her on the mouth again. “Me too”

“I can't wait to meet you, little one” he then said, rubbing Hailey's bump once again a leaving a kiss on it too. “Mommy and I already love you so much. I actually think she loves you more than me but it's fine, since I know you're adorable. Even though I still haven't met you”

Hailey's heart was about to melt. She liked to talk to the baby too, rubbing her belly, singing lullabies, but seeing Jay doing that was something different. It was something that made her love for him grow more than she actually thought it was possible. She felt tears coming to her eyes, she couldn't believe she actually got to experience this with the best man she had ever met. Growing up, she had always been scared that she would end up like her mother ― marrying a man that was a completely different person from what she had thought. Her experiences during her childhood had lead her not to trust people easily and ― it was hard to admit, but it was true ― even lead her to think that she was not worth of love. Her own father didn't love her, so how could other people? This was until she met Jay. Of course, she had had other relationships in the past, but she had never felt in the way Jay made her feel. A way that hadn't changed since they had got together, she loved him like the very first day, even after two years of dating and more than six months of marriage. Jay could never be like her dad, she knew it. And now, she knew she was worth of being loved, Jay and her friends reminded this to her every time. Not by saying this to her, but by showing this to her, with their gestures and their words.

“You know” Jay said, bringing her back to reality and earning a questioning look from his wife. “Don't get mad, but I think you're starting showing”

The blonde detective looked at him for a moment before bursting out into laughter. “Why would I get mad?”

Jay's cheeks flushed pink. “Well, you know, women don't usually like it when you say they got... _bigger_ ”

Hailey raised an eyebrow. “One of your future dad books told you that?”

“No!” he immediately exclaimed. “Well, maybe”

Hailey laughed again and shook her had. Jay was adorable. “Okay, well, I won't get mad. Actually, I can't wait to start showing”

“Really?” he asked, pulling her shirt down and laying next to her again.

“Really” she answered, nodding. She still felt nauseous but the conversation she was having was a great distraction. “So when I'll kiss you when we're on public everyone will know that you don't only have an hot wife, but you have a hot and pregnant wife”

Jay laughed. “Seems fair. Anyone needs to know that I have the most wonderful woman on this planet as my wife and the mother of my children”

“ _Children_?” she asked with a grin.

“Won't you like to have more?” he wondered. “Giving this little one a brother or a sister?”

“Definitely” Hailey replied. “But let's wait a couple of years, okay?”

Jay chuckled. “That's fine by me”

“It better be”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Hope you liked this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! I love upstead fluff <3  
> I don't have much to say sooo, see you in the next chapter (hopefully)🥰🥰


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Honey, remind me because we thought throwing a Christmas party at our house was a great idea”
> 
> Hailey laughed and shook her head as she finished to put the cutlery on the table. “Because we have a new, large house that we want to share with our friends” she answered, joining her husband into the kitchen and giving him a kiss on the cheek. 
> 
> Or, Christmas Eve with a very special guest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! First of all, I wanted to thank you all for the comments and the kudos! They seriosuly make my day🥰  
> For this chapter, I feel like a little bit of backstory is needed. I added Connor as well, pretending that he never left Chicago and that the whole mess with Ava never happened (let's be honest, what were the writers thinking? I'll never forget them for what they did to Connor). Anyway, in this story he is married to Abigail Collins, a red head doctor that works at the Chicago Med's ED, and they have two children, Dylan and Charlotte Rhodes. They are four and three years old. I hope this clarifies things for the following chapter! Also, it's not a lot pregnancy related but I hope you like it anyways!

December 2023

“Honey, remind me because we thought throwing a Christmas party at our house was a great idea”

Hailey laughed and shook her head as she finished to put the cutlery on the table. “Because we have a new, large house that we want to share with our friends” she answered, joining her husband into the kitchen and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Jay was cutting the vegetables ― carrots, turnips, parsnips. He wasn't a fun of them but Hailey said that they were necessary.

It was Christmas Eve and it was late in the afternoon. Jay and Hailey ―well, mainly Hailey ― had offered to host the Christmas Dinner that year, since they had a new place which was big enough to welcome a lot of their friends. The whole intelligence unit was coming ― Vanessa, Kevin, Adam and Kim with Makayla, even Voight ― with the addition of their beloved Sargent Platt and her husband. Will was coming as well and he was bringing a date, a psychologist that he had met at work while treating a patient. Her name was Elizabeth and both Jay and Hailey were excited to meet her. Connor, Abigail and their kids, Dylan and Charlotte, had been invited too and the Rhodes had accepted the invitation gladly. Jay and Hailey had also invited other friends from 51 and Med, but some of them had to spend Christmas with their families ― Chief Boden, Hermann and Cindy, Noah and April ― others were out of town, like Stella and Severide, who decided to escape from the city in the coldest time of the year and go on a trip to the Bahamas. Matt and Sylvie were at the hospital, Sylvie just gave birth to their first daughter, Aileen, and they had to spend a couple of days at Med, in order to make sure everything was alright.

They also thought a lot about inviting Hailey's family. Jay knew she didn't want her father there and he respected and supported her decision, and since her mother would have never come alone they invited just her brothers. They declined, since they had already accepted their mother's invitation. Hailey knew her brothers did that because of their mom. They knew very well what their father did but they didn't feel like completely leave their mother alone ― so they usually went home for Christmas, pretending they were a big, happy family. Hailey couldn't do that, though. She just couldn't spend a whole evening there and pretending like that man was the best father she could have wished for. However, she felt sorry for her mother, so she had promised she and Jay would stop by the next morning, on Christmas day.

“We bought this house months ago” Jay said.

“And we never threw a party!” Hailey replied with a grin. “It was about time we did it” she said, kneeling in front of the oven to check on the roast beef. She quickly checked the time on her clock. Their guests were supposed to arrive in half an hour. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Jay gave her a questioning look. Hailey shrugged and slightly shook her head, she didn't know who could be so early. She walked in the entrance and ehen she opened the door, she found Vanessa, holding two bags full of food. 

“Your favourite girl is here!” she exclaimed as she walked into the house. Jay, hearing the voice from the kitchen, chuckled. Vanessa was always so full of energy. “Kevin will be here in a minute, he's parking the car”

Vanessa and Hailey joined Jay into the kitchen. “What is all of this?” he wondered as Vanessa placed the bags on the kitchen table.

“I was in charge of the desserts, wasn't I?”

Hailey laughed. “Yes, but you didn't have to bring such a large amount of food”

Vanessa shrugged. “I love doing things in the right way” she replied. Both Jay and Hailey chuckled. “Okay, now that I'm here, baby mama you can rest. Sit on the sofa, read a book, watch a movie or something. I'll take care of everything”

The blonde detective rolled her eyes. “I'm pregnant, Ness. Not sick. I'm perfectly able to cook and―”

“I'm sure you are” Vanessa said. “But you're not doing it. Your husband and I are on food duty this time”

“My God, you're unbelievable”

“I'm just the best best friend in the world” Vanessa replied with a wink. “Come on, go rest”

Hailey groaned but did as Vanessa said.

* * *

“Will texted me, he's here” Jay said to Hailey. It was about fourth minutes later, many of their guests had already arrived.

Hailey basically jumped up from the couch. “Finally! I'm dying to meet this girl he always talks about”

“Me too” Connor commented. “He never shuts up about her, even at work”

Abigail chuckled, running and hand through her red hair. “It's called true love, babe. Learn from him”

“Connor never shuts up about you as well, Abbey” Jay said as he got up from the couch as well. He had Hailey had both been kicked out of kitchen by Kim and Vanessa. At the beginning, Jay was allowed to stay while Hailey had to rest, but after seeing that his skill in the kitchen were very far from his detective skills, they kicked him out as well, claiming they were going to take care of everything. 

“Busted” Adam commented with a laugh.

“What can I say? I'm in love my wife very much” Connor said, putting his arm around Abigail's waist and giving her a kiss on the temple.

“You better be” the redhead replied.

Hailey laughed and shook her head and she walked into the entrance, followed by Jay. She opened the door and found her brother-in-law with a big smile on his face. Next to him was standing a woman with long, brown hair and blue eyes.

“Will, hey, come in” Hailey said, greeting the doctor. Will and the brunette woman walked into the house and Hailey closed the door behind them. “And you must be Elizabeth, right? I'm Hailey, nice to meet you” she said, holding out her hand. 

“Yeah, you can call me Beth. Nice to meet you too” she replied, shaking the blonde detective's hand with a smile.

“This is my husband, Jay. Will's brother” Hailey then said and Jay shook Elizabeth's hand.

“It was very nice of you to invite me” Beth said as Jay took her coat.

“Of course” he replied. “We couldn't wait to meet you, since my big brother here always talks about you”

“Jay!” Will exclaimed, his cheeks turning a deep shade of red. His face was now of the color of his hair. Beth's cheeks flushed pink as well. The blonde detective smile. She could see there was real affection between the two.

“What? It's the truth” Jay defended himself with a grin. “Plus, you teased me about Hailey for years. Now it's my turn”

“Yeah, right” Will commented with a sigh, eyes on the pavement.

“Come on, I'll introduce you to the others” Hailey said and she lead the way to the leaving room, where most of their friends were.

“Dylan, stop running!” Abigail told her son as they walked into the room. Dylan was an adorable child, but he was a little bit of a trouble maker and definitely had too much energy for a four year old.

Dylan stopped running and hid behind Hank's legs. Their Sarge was loved by all the kids. Makayla, Dylan and Charlotte loved him and so did his nephew, Daniel, but unfortunately he rarely saw him. Hailey knew Voight considered her, Jay and the other members of their unit as his own children, and she couldn't wait to see the bond between him and her child grow through the years. Hank was going to be an excellent grandpa.

“You know little one, I may have to arrest you for speedery if you don't listen to your mom” Voight said, trying to sound threatening, but he was actually smiling.

“Oh no!” Dylan exclaimed, playing along with the Sargent. He ran away with a smile and his behind his dad's legs, making everyone in the room laugh.

“See? You have to listen to mom and dad” Connor said, ruffling his son's hair. “Come on, go play with your sister and Makayla” he added. Dylan nodded and ran towards Charlotte and Makayla, who were playing with some dolls they had brought from home.

Hailey cleared her throat, in order to make them notice their presence. Then, she introduced Beth to everyone.

“Dinner should be ready soon” Hailey then said. “At least I hope so, I have been kicked out of my own kitchen just because I'm pregnant and I have don't to make a lot of efforts” she added, rolling her eyes.

Beth chuckled. “How far along are you?”

“Fourteen weeks” she answered. 

“So, Beth” Connor spoke up. “How did you get stuck with Will? He's always so annoying” he joked. Abigail smacked his shoulder and shook her head, giggling.

“Okay, who invited him?” Will replied with an annoyed tone, but he was in fact smiling.

Beth laughed. “Sometimes he is, yeah. But it's not that bad”

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Jay gave a questioning look to his wife. “Are we expecting someone else?” he asked.

“Just one more guest” Hailey said with a proud smirk.

Jay looked confused. “I thought everyone was already here?” he wondered, throwing a glance at both Abbey and Connor. Abigail shrugged and Connor raised his hand, a clear sign that they didn't know what was going on.

“Come on” Hailey said, taking her husband's hand and pulling him into the entrance.

“Love, what is going on?” he asked. He was very confused.

“Just opened the door” she replied, a big smile on her face. Jay sighed and did as she asked. As soon as he saw who was behind the door, his eyes widened in surprise. Hailey did her best not to laugh at his adorable expression.

“I heard there is a Christmas party going on here. Any chance I could participate?”

“Greg!” Jay exclaimed in disbelief, immediately pulling his best friend in an hug.

“I'm happy to see you too, Jay” Mouse said, hugging him as well and patting his hands on his back. He was very aware that Jay had called him by his first name, something he rarely did.

“Oh my God, what are you doing here?” Jay asked after they broke the hug. He still couldn't believe his best friend was here. He and Mouse had been through a lot ― during the time they were in the Rangers and then at the Intelligence. It had been very hard for Jay when Mouse had decided to re-enlist in the army and he was afraid he would never see him again.

“I came back a week ago” Mouse answered. “Someone thought it would be a great idea to surprise you. Something like a Christmas gift” he added, looking at Hailey that was standing next to her husband. Jay's glance fell on her as well. She was smiling widely, her eyes were shining with joy.

“How is my favourite Halstead doing?” Mouse asked, pulling Hailey in an hug. Greg and Hailey had already met once, when Mouse had came back from Afghanistan to attend his best friend's wedding. He and Jay regularly wrote to each other and, when he read Jay was getting married, Mouse knew he had to be there. He already knew everything about Hailey ― in his letters, Jay wrote mainly about her and how amazing she was ― and he couldn't wait to meet her. He knew the details of their relationship, both as partners and lovers. He knew that Jay trusted Hailey with his life and wouldn't want anyone to have his back on the field. He knew she was a badass, one hell of a cop, and she also was kind, loving and caring with people that deserved it. He knew how much Jay had fallen for her, he knew when they had finally confessed their feelings and started dating, he knew how they used to spend their days off, he knew how they managed to work together while dating. It didn't come to him as a surprise when Jay announced he had finally proposed. Mouse had taken some days of leave and had flown back to Chicago. Jay wasn't sure he could make it, and when he did he was the happiest man alive. After that, Mouse had to go back to war but they had kept writing to each other and he knew about the pregnancy.

Mouse liked Hailey. As soon as he met her, he understood she was the right person for his friend. He already knew because the way Jay talked about her in his letters was unique. He had never talked about someone in that way. And when he met her, his thoughts were confirmed. It was so easy to understand that they were in love, someone could tell it by the simple gestures they did during the day. Mouse had never seen Jay so happy and he was really glad that he had finally found the love of his life. Mouse and Hailey also got along extremely well and they spent most of the time making fun of Jay ― but in a lovable way, according to what they said.

Hailey laughed as Jay rolled her eyes. “I'm good, thank you” the blonde detective answered.

“And the baby? How's the little Halstead doing?” Mouse wondered when his glance fall on Hailey's belly. She didn't show much but there was definitely a baby bump there.

“Good, but dear Lord knows why morning sickness is still there. And I'm fourteen weeks!” she exclaimed, making Jay and Mouse chuckle. “Thank you for coming” she then said to Greg.

“Thank you for inviting me” Mouse replied. “It would have been terrible to spend my first Christmas off duty all by myself”

“Wait” Jay said. “What do you mean off duty?”

“I'm back” Greg answered, smiling. “For real. I won't go back to Afghanistan”

Jay's mouth curved into a smile that was even wider than before. “That's awesome!”

“I know, I know”

“Congratulations, man” said Adam, that had joined Hailey and Jay in the entrance, along with everyone else. They didn't know Mouse was back and it had been a surprise to them as well. Everyone started greeting and congratulating with him. They were happy to have him back in Chicago safe and sound.

“Oh, wait a minute” Mouse said as he noticed that Jay was about to close the door. “There's my present for you”

Jay looked at him confused and Hailey furrowed her eyebrows. “You brought a present?”

“Of course, what kind of Christmas is it without presents?” Mouse replied. He disappeared for a moment, before coming back with a huge box in his hands. It had many holes in it and it looked like Greg was struggling to keep it shut.

“You didn't have to” Hailey said.

“But I wanted to” Mouse replied with a smile. “It is for all of you. I mean, for the whole family. I bet that the little Halstead will love it”

He handed the box to Hailey, who had a very curious look on her face. It was a little bit heavy but nothing she couldn't carry.

“I think you should open it now” Mouse suggested as he closed the door behind him.

“Uhm, okay” the blonde detective said, she was both very confused and curious at the same time. “Love?” he asked Jay. He nodded and opened the box.

“Oh my God!” Vanessa exclaimed as soon as she saw what was in the box, startling both Hailey and Jay. A beautiful golden retriever puppy was looking at Hailey with two bright blue eyes. Jay smiled and took the puppy in his arms.

“In his last letter, Jay said you guys wanted to adopt a dog” Mouse explained. “So I thought, why not? It looks like the perfect present”

Hailey was speechless. She had always wanted a puppy, since she was little, but she had never had the actual chance to adopt one. She felt tears in her eyes as she thought of what her life was going to be in some months. She, Jay, their baby and a puppy. She had never thought she could have that much.

“Oh no, are you crying?” Mouse said, panicking. “I'm sorry, I thought it was a good idea I―”

“No” Hailey said, shaking her head and sniffling. Then, she put the box on the floor and wiped away the tears from her cheeks. “Don't be sorry. It's perfect. It's just― the hormons. They make me cry for everything, especially when I'm happy”

Mouse took a relieved breath. 

“It's perfect, Greg” Jay said. “Thank you”

“It's a boy, by the way” he said with a smile.

“Can we name him Bear?” Makayla's tiny voice quietly asked.

“Sweetheart, it's not our dog” Kim explained to her gently, kneeling in front of her. “It's theirs. They have to chose his name”

“Well, I think Bear is a quite fitting name for this little guy” Hailey said, caressing the puppy's paws. Makayla smiled widely. “What do you say?” she asked Jay.

“I think it's a beautiful name” he agreed.

* * *

“He's so cute” Hailey whispered as she watched Bear, who had decided his new sleeping spot was going to bottom of their bed. 

Jay chuckled. “He's the cutest thing I've ever seen. Beside you, of course”

Hailey rolled her eyes and gently smacked his shoulder. “Shut up” she said with a playful smile, then she climbed on her side of the bed. “Are you coming?” she asked her husband as she put herself under the sheets.

Jay nodded and joined her on the bed. He put his arm around her shoulder as Hailey adjusted herself and rested her head on his chest. 

“Did you enjoy today?” Hailey quietly asked after a couple of minutes of silence. Jay thought she had fallen asleep. 

“Very much” he answered, placing a gentle kiss on her head. “I really liked your surprise”

“I knew you would” the blonde detective said with a proud smile. “I'm glad he's back. I know how important he is to you”

“He's always been by my side” Jay said. “And when he decided to re-enlist, I kept wondering how in the world he would chose to go back to Afghanistan. I couldn't understand, I still don't, but he's back now. He's alive and it is the only thing that matters”

“Yeah” Hailey agreed.

“I'm sorry my Christmas present wasn't as good as yours” he said after a while.

She looked up at him and shook her head. “You gave me the best gift I could ever ask for” she replied. Then, she took his hand in hers and placed it on her belly. “Our baby. And it's not just this. You give me a gift every day, because you are constantly by my side. It's the only thing I'll ever ask for”

“You don't have to worry then, because I'll always be here” Jay said, gently pressing his lips on hers. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again!  
> I don't know if I actually like this chapter but I thought the idea of bringing Mouse back in these circumstances was great! Hope you like it!  
> If you'd like, let me know what you think of this story in the comments!  
> See you in the next chapter (hopefully)🥰


End file.
